{
  "id": 6380870,
  "title": "OpenAI says it cracked 90-year-old maths problem in 88 hours",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/openai-says-it-cracked-90-year-old-maths-problem-in-88-hours",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-09-09T04:31:24.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "KahawaTungu",
    "slug": "kahawatungu",
    "url": "https://kahawatungu.com/openai-says-it-cracked-90-year-old-maths-problem-in-88-hours/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "OpenAI claims to have solved a 90-year-old mathematical problem using an advanced AI model that found a solution in just 88 hours. The company's researchers focused a group of about 10,000 AI agents on the Navier-Stokes equations, which concern fluid movement, and discovered a solution after approximately 88 hours. OpenAI describes the achievement as a \"milestone\" and an indication of the rapid improvement in AI tools. However, the solution has yet to be independently verified or publicly accepted by the Clay Mathematics Institute, which offers a $1 million prize for solving certain mathematical problems. OpenAI's solution addresses two out of the four statements in the proof demanded by the Millennium Prize, but it is still pending acceptance. The company has admitted that they were aware of rumors regarding the resolution of two Millennium Prize problems and decided to use their AI bots to work on the remaining problems. The process involved nearly 3 million messages and consumed 130 billion output tokens, costing roughly $10 million based on OpenAI's pricing. OpenAI claims that they are sharing the result to highlight the progress of their AI models and do not intend to claim the prize for this specific achievement. However, the claim has sparked controversy as other mathematicians, Tristan Buckmaster and Levent Alpöge, have also been working on solutions for the Navier-Stokes problem using OpenAI's Codex tool. Buckmaster alleges that OpenAI became aware of their progress after the fact, which he claims violates OpenAI's stated methods. OpenAI has acknowledged concurrent work by Buckmaster and Alpöge, expressing gratitude and stating that no user data was accessed in their own work.",
  "summary": "OpenAI says it has found a solution to a decades-old advanced maths problem in a matter of hours using a new artificial intelligence (AI) model and thousands of AI bots. The ChatGPT-maker said on Tuesday that by focusing a group of roughly 10,000 AI agents, or AI bots that undertake tasks somewhat autonomously, it solved [...] The post OpenAI says it cracked 90-year-old maths problem in 88 hours…",
  "key_points": [
    "OpenAI solved 90-year-old Navier-Stokes equations in 88 hours",
    "AI agents tackled fluid movement problem with 10,000 agents",
    "Solution pending verification and $1M prize acceptance"
  ],
  "editors_take": "OpenAI's achievement signals a potential shift in solving longstanding mathematical problems using advanced AI models, but raises questions about the validation and ownership of such discoveries.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Times of India",
        "title": "Million-dollar question: OpenAI claims to have an answer to 90-year old maths problem",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/million-dollar-question-openai-claims-to-have-an-answer-to-90-year",
        "published": "2026-09-09T03:30:58.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}